Psalm 61:6

Psalm 61:6

Increase the days of my life

Earlier in this Psalm, David talks about his heart growing faint and he pleads to be “led to the rock that is higher than I.” He may have been laid low by sickness or some kind of physical disability; whatever the problem it was enough to cause him to cry out to God for help. As we have seen, he is reminded of all the blessings that the Lord has given him and he voices a longing to be in God’s presence in an intimate relationship.

The Psalms have taught us that the literal travails of the songwriters mirror the spiritual battles that hound those who follow Christ. Thus, we may not be close to death in any physical way, but the enemy can drag us down to the pit of despair and weakness where we may feel that the death of our spirits is imminent. Satan loves to rob us of our joy, he plans assaults on our integrity, he shifts the ground beneath our feet until we feel as if our spiritual life has drained away, and the Lord is a distant acquaintance instead of an intimate friend. How the enemy loves to break up that relationship with God and the weakness of our sinful bodies easily leads us into chaos and sinister game-playing that bring us closer and closer to spiritual death! 

If that rings any bells think about this Psalm, it is written for people like us, those who have a longing to take refuge in the shelter of His wings. Instead of weakness and spiritual decay we must ask our Lord to increase the days of our life, to give us many years, to allow us to be a blessing for many generations. Do you want your time on earth to be a quickly fading memory because of its mediocrity or do you want to be remembered as a man or woman of God who lived life to the full in His presence and who dwelt in His Tent? Satan chooses the former for us, but our God draws us close, He plans for longevity, and He is our strong tower against the foe. v3. Hallelujah!

 

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